Elia Cugini

Journalist and critic

Elia Cugini is a Manchester-based literary critic and freelance journalist, with specialist expertise in writing about contemporary literary trends, queer literature and culture, film and TV, video games, sex and relationships (particularly among young millennials and Gen Z), and trans politics. He is also a PhD student in English and American Studies at the University of Manchester.He is a regular contributor to Dazed, and his work can be found in The Baffler, Gawker, Gay Times, Eurogamer, Xtra, Huck and elsewhere.

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Writing

SELECTED ESSAYSBad Romance / BafflerThe Good Little Pig Problem / GawkerThe troubled golden age of trans literature / XtraHow To Write About Trans People / Electric LiteratureAgainst the rise of gender-critical non-fiction / Vashti MediaBrianna Ghey’s legacy must be liberation—not further harm / XtraOlympics 2024: Misogyny in sports hasn't gone, it's just changed shape / DazedBritish satire is fanning the flames of fascism / HuckWhen Thin is a Trans Requirement / AutostraddleDo no harm? The trouble with Cass' therapy recommendations / Trans Safety NetworkBOOK REVIEWSJames Frankie Thomas's 'Idlewild' surfaces the intense agony of not getting to be gay / XtraOn Kay Dick's 'They' / XtraI read Florence Given’s debut novel Girl Crush so you don’t have to / DazedFILM AND TVBisexual Season / Mid Theory CollectiveWhy is Emilia Pérez so polarising? / DazedThe problem with Sex Education season four and its trans storylines / DazedINTERVIEWSJudith Butler wants TERFs to wake up / DazedClose to You: The story behind Elliot Page’s improvised trans film / DazedExperimental documentary ‘Orlando: My Political Biography’ is an invitation to connect with the non-binary child inside us all / XtraPunk polymath Brontez Purnell on the cult of masculinity / Gay TimesDavey Davis’s novel will scare you... but also turn you on? / DazedNicola Dinan’s Bellies: An Addictive Love Story With Transition at Its Core / AnOtherPolly Barton’s New Book Wants to Get Us All Talking About Porn / AnOtherHow trans sportspeople became a political football in the US / DazedGAMES CRITICISMThe bittersweet queer history of game development / Gay TimesOn Difficult Queer Games / EurogamerUnpacking the intertwined histories of porn and video games / Gay TimesHow can games engage with the complex realities of mental health? / EurogamerExplaining Link's gender in 'Breath of the Wild' / Gay TimesIn Neo Cab, We Can Play / Into The SpineSEX AND CULTUREBonnie Blue, Lily Phillips and the tabloidification of sex work / DazedIs porn addiction real? / DazedPolyamory isn’t perfect – but neither is monogamy / Dazed